An economist with Michigan State University says high food prices are here to stay.
David Ortega says grocery store prices rose 10 percent over the last five months and he expects them to remain elevated in the near term through the end of the year.
He says prices will not ever retreat to pre-pandemic levels, but he is hopeful the rate of increase will slow down to a more reasonable level.
“Prices won’t likely go back to levels prior to the pandemic because there is a general increase in prices that happens through time, but that rate of increase will return to much more reasonable levels,” said Ortega.
Ortega believes historic input costs and weather changes will remain key factors in food prices moving forward.
